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 Editorials | Opinions
Mexico’s Partial Vote Recount Confirms Massive and Systematic Election Fraud
 Al Giordano
Finally, the hard numbers are starting to come in. If the seven electoral justices believed that holding a partial recount would calm passions, the facts unleashed by that partial recount have served, instead, to flame them.more »»»
Mexico's Partial Recount Seen as Unlikely to Change Outcome
 Sam Enriquez & Cecilia Sanchez
Despite the popularity of the call for a full recount in the July 2 election, which ended with a difference of less than 1%, experts say that legal hurdles make that goal unlikely, especially given initial reports that a court-ordered partial recount completed Sunday showed no apparent pattern of fraud.more »»»
“We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Recount”
 Greg Palast
The new Voting Reform industry is focused on preventing the installation of computer voting machines. Paper ballots, we’re told, will save our democracy. Well, forget it. Recently, Mexico’s ruling party has showed how you can rustle an election even with the entire population using the world’s easiest paper ballot.more »»»
Latin America's Populist Bandwagon Slows
 John Rapley
There is little question that neoliberal globalisation has been encountering increasing resistance in Latin America, as elsewhere, over the last decade. Some of this account for the rise of left-wing governments. But careful observers have also been detecting that the populist tide is splitting into two currents.more »»»
Life in San Miguel de Allende
 Doug Bower
Americans living in San Miguel de Allende, either do not understand, do not want to understand, or are in simple denial regarding the effect they've had on this central Mexican colonial town.more »»»
Camp Casey: Hearts Connect
 Cindy Sheehan
A year ago today, about 100 of us marched down Prairie Chapel Road in the awful Texas heat into history. Today, with very short notice, dozens of us marched down the same road, with the same results: no meeting with the cowardly cowboy wanna-be in chief.more »»»
Cuba Without Castro
 Ian Bremmer
Fidel Castro has survived 47 years of U.S. efforts to undermine his regime. In the process, he has become an icon, a symbol of the Cuban revolution's durability. But as he left the stage following a televised speech in October 2004, the Cuban strongman tripped, shattered his left knee into eight pieces, and knocked the wind from the Cuban people.more »»»
Border Crimes Top Priority
 Antonio O. Garza Jr.
I read with interest the Huston Chronicle's July 28 editorial on violence against women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico. Violence along the United States- Mexico border is of great concern to me and to the United States Embassy in Mexico City and our nine consulates in Mexico.more »»»
Au Revoir, Freedom Fries
 NYTimes
“Freedom fries,” like the “mission accomplished” banner that President Bush stood in front of, is now a stale relic of a naïve time, when the war’s supporters were convinced that Iraqis would be free right after they finished greeting their liberators with rose petals.more »»»
Mexico's Mission: Bridge the Divide
 Todd A. Eisenstadt
As the increasingly acrimonious controversy over Mexico's July 2 presidential election passes from tallying votes to the electoral court (and to the streets), the debate over the vote count distracts attention from the big picture. Mexico is bitterly divided along class lines, and the 2006 vote distribution makes this clearer than ever.more »»»
No Generosity of Spirit
 Juan Jacobson
A few nights ago, my wife and I witnessed the beginning of yet another scene of destruction in what was once the lovely town of Puerto Vallarta. I'm referring to the annihilation of Lazaro Cardenas Park in the midst of Old Town Vallarta.more »»»
The Shame of Not Being Mexican
 David Swanson
I'll grant you that in the United States our two big political parties never nominate a candidate of, by, or for poor people. Nonetheless, we have now established a pattern of stolen elections, and we have NOT taken over our nation's capital to demand justice. This fact alone would make me ashamed right now not to be a Mexican.more »»»
Mexican Civil Resistance in Five Acts
 John Ross
Following the 8.2 earthquake that devastated the capital, the "damnificados" (refugees) were encamped in the streets, demanding relief and replacement housing. This morning, they are again living on the same streets.more »»»
Obrador Takes Risk with Mexico Protests
 Sara Miller Llana
Some are wondering: Has López Obrador gone too far? The civil resistance campaign, which is causing major disruptions and which some likened to "hostage taking," is dividing a polarized country and could ultimately cost the leftist candidate those supporters who feel he has crossed the line and worry about how far he is willing to go.more »»»
Might a Parliamentary System Better Serve Mexico?
 Patrick Corcoran
The editorial pages these days abound with structural remedies to Mexico’s governing crisis. Arturo Valenzuela detailed one of the more drastic of these suggestions in a lengthy piece in El Universal on July 7: a shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system in Mexico.more »»»
Another Southern Border: Mexico Should Enact Immigration Reform, Too
 dallasnews.com
Mexico President Vicente Fox has spent much of his international political capital fighting the U.S. House bill passed last December that proposes felon status for illegal immigrants in the US. Too bad illegal immigrants in his own land – mostly Central American migrants on their way to the US – are already treated as criminals.more »»»
Kidnapping Mexican Democracy
 Enrique Krauze
In a democracy (and Mexico today is a democracy, although its long history does much to contradict that) it isn't blazing torches, insurrectional assemblies or enlightened leaders who decide: It's the vote of the people, the rule of law and institutions.more »»»
Mexican Party Lost Way, Former Members Claim
 Marion Lloyd
For 17 years Fernando Aboitiz helped the National Action Party transform itself from an idealistic underdog opposing an autocratic regime to Mexico's dominant political force in a multiparty democracy. But along the way, Aboitiz says, the party lost its soul.more »»»
¡Ask a Mexican!
 Gustavo Arellano
The Mexican presidential elections have been a freaking mess. Does the Mexican have an opinion of Mexican politics? Or do you - as many pochos I know - not give a shit about what happens in Mexico?more »»»
Poor Mexico: Let's Give Democracy Some Time
 sentinelandenterprise.com
The election was on a Sunday, but beginning on the previous Wednesday campaigning and political advertising were prohibited by law, and polling organizations weren't allowed to release the results of their polls. Most surprising, in spite of the heat, all across Mexico not a drop of alcohol was available anywhere on election day, no cervezas, no margaritas, nothing.more »»»
Wiretapping Unbound
 Aziz Huq
A threat, Justice Scalia once explained, sometimes comes "in sheep's clothing: the potential of the asserted principle to effect important change in the equilibrium of power is not immediately evident, and must be discerned by a careful and perceptive analysis. But this wolf comes as a wolf."more »»»
For Mexicans, Democracy at a Crossroads
 David Adams
It's been three weeks since Mexico's hotly contested elections for president and Congress. But the closest election in Mexican history is turning into an epic saga with two candidates claiming victory and bitter allegations of fraud transfixing the nation.more »»»
The Pin in the Grenade
 William Rivers Pitt
There is no way to tell exactly how this Middle East upheaval is going to unfold, and making any sort of prediction is a dangerous game. There are, however, a number of disparate factors threaded through this situation that, if allowed to coalesce, will create an unspeakably dangerous convulsion that will be felt all across the globe. more »»»
Time and Urgency: Reflections on the Politics of Listening in the Other Campaign
 John Gibler
Many of the criticisms leveled against the Other Campaign can be attributed to the failure or the refusal to take seriously the goal of the campaign’s first phase: listening.more »»»
The New Face of Election Fraud in Latin America: Examples from Mexico and Peru
 Maxwell A. Cameron
Writing for The Guardian blog "Comment is free..." James Galbraith and Greg Palast have provided a great service by calling attention to the serious possibility of systematic fraud in the Mexican election.more »»»
Democracy, Mexican Style
 Stephen Lendman
What do these presidential elections all have in common: Mexico, 1988, US, 2000, US, 2004, Colombia and Peru, 2006 and the just concluded Mexican election on July 2? In each case, the outcome was "arranged" and known in advance before voters went to the polls.more »»»
The Results of Deception
 Gilberto López y Rivas
Whatever the legal and political conclusion may be to the accusation that electoral fraud has been committed against Obrador, it is obvious that the crisis of legitimacy in democratic institutions is the most significant feature of the current political reality in Mexico.more »»»
Letter from Ralph Nader to President George W. Bush
 Nader.org
Dear President Bush: You have been a weak president, despite your strutting and barking, when it comes to doing the right things for the American people within the Constitution and its rule of law. This trait is now in bold relief over the Israeli government’s escalating war crimes pulverizing the defenseless people and country of Lebanon.more »»»
The Two Mexico City Mayors That Couldn't
 Mario Canseco
So far, international commentators have refused to find a flower to identify the rallies held by supporters of former Mexico City mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. It is not that the Latin American country has a shortage of colourful plants, but rather the realization that the state of affairs is much different than what transpired in places like Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan in years past.more »»»
Doing the Math in Mexico
 James K Galbraith
Is it time to move on? The numbers suggest otherwise. By demonstrating the possibility of detecting fraud before the results of an election are officially decided, they also inaugurate a new phase in the struggle for the recognition of a democratic vote.more »»»
Is Victory Worth Any Cost?
 USA Today
Al Gore realized there was a time to fight and a time to concede. So did Richard Nixon, who did not even challenge his narrow loss in 1960 despite evidence of vote rigging in Illinois. Both put the nation's interests above personal ambition. As he weighs his next move, López Obrador would do well to heed their example.more »»»
"Bring It On" Still Alive and Well
 William Fisher
The punditocracy has lately been waxing eloquent about President Bush's softer, more conciliatory tone and less hysterical, more humble rhetoric, which many have trumpeted as "the end of cowboy diplomacy." Not on your Nellie.more »»»
Don't make Mexico like Cuba
 Eugene Robinson
If Mexicans want to leave their country, for any reason, what right does the Mexican government have to stop them? The only answer, of course, is no right at all. Imagine the situation in reverse: Imagine that before boarding a plane for a vacation in Cancun, Americans had to ask permission from government officers who could arbitrarily say no, you're not going anywhere.more »»»
Me, Hugo and George
 Cindy Sheehan
Yes, I would rather have President Chavez than George Bush. But truthfully, I would rather have countless numbers of people as my president than George Bush. George Bush is an out of control criminal who needs to be impeached for his lies, removed from office for his transgressions, and imprisoned for his crimes against humanity.more »»»
Mexico Election Corruption
 ReasonInRevolt
The Texas Observer on June 30, obviously before the Mexican election "results" were announced ran an excellent piece on the election spectacle that has been going on. John Ross detailed an amazing number of dirty tricks, media manipulation and outright corruption used by the PAN to engineer their victory.more »»»
Mexican Economy Key to Curbing Immigration
 Ruben Navarrette
Interestingly, a Mexican presidential election turned out to be a big story in the United States. Hundreds of newspaper articles have been written on the subject, and the election was one of the lead stories on numerous radio and television newscasts.more »»»
Clinton Speaks Out on Illegal Workers
 Jeffrey L. Rabin
Former President Clinton told one of the nation's largest Latino civil rights groups last week that the conservative wing of the Republican Party is using the immigration issue to divide Congress and the nation.more »»»
USA-Cuba: Chronicle of a War Foretold
 Prensa Latina
The updated George W. Bush plan for the annexation of Cuba was exposed here by Ricardo Alarcon, president of the National Assembly of People´s Power in a Cuban TV program Mesa Redonda.more »»»
Reclaiming the Issues: "Why Is Bush Spying on Democrats?!?"
 Thom Hartmann
Every time Democrats and progressives speak out about George W. Bush's spying on Americans without mentioning that he may also be spying on Democrats, they're playing into Karl Rove's "National Security Frame" and actually strengthening Republican electoral chances in November.more »»»
Truth in Elections
 The Nation
The fate of Mexico is undetermined at this hour, but this much we know: Don't take at face value what you read in the leading American newspapers about Mexico's cliffhanger election outcome.more »»»
Fasting and Praying for Peace
 Ted Glick
3,000 people around the US and the world are fasting or have done so for at least one day this week as part of a national Troops Home Fast to end the Iraq war. I'm one of them.more »»»
Populism and Tourism Investments
 Carlos Veranda
The presidential campaign could hardly have ended with more conflicting positions as those of the PAN'S Felipe Calderon and the PRD'S Lopez Obrador, with the latter's threat to take the economy hostage.more »»»
Mexico's Dramatic Vote Count Lacks Credibility
 Laura Carlsen
A close race opens up doubts about the legitimacy of the winner and leads to protests that the public will has been violated. Under optimal circumstances, where the rule of law reigns and public confidence is high, a single vote lead should be sufficient to declare a winner in a one-round, majority vote like Mexico's. But neither of those conditions characterizes Mexico today.more »»»
Go to Venezuela, You Idiot!
 Jeff Cohen
I don't usually take the advice of right-wingers. But I did this time. After receiving inflamed email messages from dozens of angry rightists that I should get the hell out of the USA and go to Venezuela, I accepted their challenge and flew to Caracas.more »»»
And the Winner is ...
 Chicago Tribune
Mexico's closest-ever presidential race is still too close to call. That's a step forward when you consider that for most of the last century, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) had the election in the bag before the polls opened.more »»»
Mexican Elections: 3 Million "Missing" Votes
 vivirlatino.com
While it was everyone's sincere wish that this year's Mexican presidential elections come off without a hitch, it was not to be. While the IFE waits until Wednesday for a vote-by-vote count, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the liberal PRD party's candidate for president says that this year's election is anything but "regular."more »»»
A Closer Look at Mexico's Preliminary Election Results
 Al Giordano
In a few days we will begin to see who is bullshiting and stonewalling, and what is the real story. The preliminary PREP results are not the official results. The official results can only come in an "acta" or act signed by the elections officials in each polling place, who are chosen by lottery from the citizenry, much like, say, a jury pool.more »»»
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